


Over the Garden Wall: Lullaby in Frogland

by earthkidsareweird



Series: Over the Garden Wall But With Reddie [6]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Betrayal, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, M/M, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Out of Character Pennywise (IT), Reddie, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Stanley Uris is So Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthkidsareweird/pseuds/earthkidsareweird
Summary: The Losers are in for a rude awakening as they get closer and closer to Adelaide's.It's Over the Garden Wall but with Reddie and like Part 6
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: Over the Garden Wall But With Reddie [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1621285
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> Sort of character list:
> 
> Eddie=Wirt (ish)  
> Richie=Greg (ish)  
> Bev=Beatrice  
> Mike=woodsman  
> Beast=Pennywise  
> Bill=Fred the Horse  
> Ben=Miss Langtree (ish)  
> Stan=Endicott (ish)
> 
> P.S. I snuck in a little 11/22/63 reference in but can't remember if I already did that.

# I.

Sea sicknesses, to be expected. Falling overboard, could happen but Eddie makes sure he paces back and forth away from any of the sides. There are frogs in clothes all around him and the others. Nobody really pays attention to him as he picks at his pockets. If he doesn’t go near the edge then he can’t fall overboard. Getting mugged, it could happen. He pauses and looks at a frog in a suit and top hat. Did frogs have the right mobility to mug someone? No. Maybe. Eddie keeps walking back and forth trying to avoid the thought instead. Norovirus though, that was the big one and an easy one.

“EDDIE!”

Eddie stops and looks over at Richie. “Have you ever noticed Mr. President is naked?”

“What? What the fuck are you talking about?” snaps Eddie but he doesn’t need Richie to fill him in because his frog friend is standing there without clothes. The rest of the frogs on the ferry are wearing suits and dresses with nice hats and some are even taking photographs, the long sort from olden days where a bulb takes forever to flash to catch the moment. Eddie stands all still while staring at the frog before he looks back at Richie. “Whatever. I’m-I’m in the middle of something right now.”

“Um what?” responds Richie. “You’re not doing anything.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and points at his head. “I’m just. . .figuring out how to save us.”

“Whatever man.” Richie looks back to his frog letting Eddie continue his pacing.

Pirates! Pirates were also a problem, right? Rivers probably had their fair share of pirates. Eddie stops and looks back at Richie who is standing by his frog friend while the frog stands on two legs looking quite sad about the whole no clothes thing. Richie offers up the orange sweatshirt tied around his waist to the frog. He has to stand a bit on his toes to get it over the frog’s head. Eddie didn’t remember the frog being so tall. It looks like there are a few other frogs staring right at them. Richie gets the sweatshirt on his frog and takes a step back nodding with some pride.

###

Bev sits on Bill’s head while Ben leans into the side of the ferry while watching all the frogs in clothes around them. A few times Ben glances just at Bev. It looks as if he’s looking at the two, he tries to tell himself this and not be all embarrassed but each time he snaps his attention away.

“Are-Are th-they looking at us?” Bill asks. “It f-f-feels like th-they’re staring.”

Of course Ben has to look down and away to hide the fact he’s blushing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“F-F-Frogs,” says Bill.

This time around, Ben does look up even though his face is still burning. He realizes, Bill has a point, but it’s more like everybody is staring at Richie and his frog friend. There’s a small frog band on a mini stage playing _In the Mood_ , a song he kept recognizing but also forgetting only to remember again. Richie and his frog are attempting to dance, Richie is trying his best to show the frog how to dance.

“I don’t think so.” Ben looks back at Bill. “It’s all in your head.”

“I don’t know about that,” Bev speaks up. She uses her wing to point at those who are actually watching them including two frogs dressed up as police officers, probably because they are police officers. “We did sneak on.”

The police frogs have billy clubs in hand, they stand there smacking their palms with it. Ben turns his attention to Eddie who watches Richie and his frog dance before looking over at Mike and Stan who keep to themselves. Mike sits on the side of the ferry while Stan stands a few inches away from him looking pretty nervous while he watches Richie’s little stunt.

“At least, we don’t have far to go, right, Bev?” Ben asks looking over at her.

She looks crestfallen and sighs. “Right, not far.”

Bill can’t see her but both he and Ben can hear it in her voice. Something _wrong_. Neither of them could quite define what but something was wrong there. “Wh-Wh-Whats on your m-mind?” Bill asks.

“Yeah, are you ok?” Ben throws the question out there.

Bev stays quiet while the police frogs keep an eye on them. The band plays on covering Glen Miller songs, this one is slower and full of sadness. It forces Richie to move slower and Eddie continues to watch them no longer pacing everywhere. “Oh, nothing. . .just seasick.”

“That’s a shame,” Ben continues. She remains on Bill’s head. “Hey, at least, you’ll be rid of those two.” He directs Bev’s attention to Richie and Eddie and it’s weird because Ben isn’t sure what he’s doing there or really any of them other than the two who are trying to get home.

Stan approaches them. “I think we might be in trouble,” he interrupts pointing over at the police frogs who are pushing their way through a crowd of frogs heading straight toward Richie. “By I think, I mean, we have a problem.”

“They are mad about the whole not paying things,” mutters Ben.

Bev sighs and is about to fly off to Richie and Eddie. It’s Eddie who notices the police frogs coming at them. He sort of hops forward almost losing his balance, the seasickness. Eddie grabs onto Richie by the wrist and tugs on him looking over at the police. Richie’s frog is still standing on two legs, he’s even taller than Eddie who holds onto Richie. The police frogs start to pick up their pace and Richie pushes his frog with Eddie hanging onto them. They go to sprint forward but there’s frogs in the way. Richie kicks out to get them to move.

“We should run, too,” Stan comments.

“Yeah. . .” Ben, Bill, and Bev all say in unison. Mike straightens his back looking at the chaos that’s about to unroll in front of them. One of the police frogs goes after Richie, Eddie, and the frog while the other turns their attention to them. Mike makes a run for it, first, leaving the others to follow.

Somewhere they hear Richie yell something along the lines, “I’m too young to go to frog jail!”


	2. II.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Losers put on a performance otherwise they'd be arrested by the frog police.

# II.

Richie keeps his frog friend tucked under his arm as he sprints off with Eddie in the opposite direction of the others. All the while Bev is fluttering back and forth between them. She isn’t too sure which way to go and who to follow. Bill is pretty obvious on the run seeing he’s a horse but then there’s Ben who keeps looking off at her while he sticks with Stan and Mike. They seem to have a better chance especially since Richie and Eddie barrel through a crowd of frogs and Richie looks back at her.

“BEV!” he shouts for her. 

The two knock over a server and food flies up in the air. The other group disappears as Bev flies down to Richie and Eddie. “You should just let them catch you.”

“I’m not going to frog jail!” protests Richie.

“It’s probably filled with salmonella!” yelps Eddie and Richie pushes him forward. Each time they collide with a frog, Eddie gags, he looks ready to puke, which will slow them down by a lot. At least, Richie keeps pushing him forward and Eddie manages to pipe up listing salmonella things. “Diarrhea! Fever! Vomiting!”

“That’s GREAT!” Richie shouts and shoves Eddie into a storage closet before he hops in after him. Bev flies in after them with the door snapping shut behind them. Some clothes fall on them and the frog ribbits. It's damp in there. 

Eddie glares at Richie who is leaning too close to him and leaning too close with a frog. “Could you move over a bit?”

“There’s not even space for that!” protests Richie.

“We really should just turn in. . .” starts Bev.

The door handle jiggles around and Richie reaches out grabbing onto a large drum, but the door swings open as Ben, Stan, Mike, and even Bill all squeeze in crushing them. Again the door closes. Eddie is pressed up into a wall while Richie hugs the drum. Stan keeps elbowing the drum and it makes a lot of noise. There’s not enough space inside the storage closet with them all there.

“Get. . .out. . .!” Eddie gasps. He tries to push back against Mike. “We. . .were. . .here first!”

“G-G-Get your own-own h-hiding spot!” Bill manages to spit out.

“We were here first!” Richie also shouts.

“I don’t think we have. . .” Bev barley has a chance to finish what she’s saying as the door opens again leaving everybody to scramble around. 

Richie ducks into the drum he’s already holding as his frog hops on Eddie’s head who almost screams but Mike grabs onto a coat hanging above them wrapping it around the two of them. Eddie manages to grab onto a mallet for the drum as Stan steals an instrument with Ben. They look at each other and do the same as Mike by taking off jackets and hiding with Bill as if they’re one giant creature.

The frog police throw open the door and in theory, they’re all in perfect disguises. Rather than wait for the police to mention anything about it, they wobble out of the closet. The other frogs back up staring at them before one of them on the stage starts to make a lot of noise in an attempt to get their attention. It keeps pointing at them and the stage and then back at them again.

“Oh shit. . .we gotta go. . .” Richie whispers, he keeps close to Eddie, Mike, and his frog. “Hit me, I’m a drum.”

From inside the coat, Eddie peeks out. Richie looks as if he’s about to walk off the wrong way unable to see because he’s a ‘drum.’ At least, Bev flies down guiding him with Ben and Stan coming up behind him with Bill. Eddie manages to mutter a “No!” at Richie.

They all stand before the frogs who stand and wait, wearing their frilly clothes and eating whatever cocktail that was brought around. None of them do anything while looking out other than Richie who won’t shut up.

“Hit me! Eds! Hit me!” Richie keeps saying.

“What? No! Just. . .act normal!” Eddie hisses at him.

“I’m a drum! Hit me! That’s normal!”

Behind them Stan makes a move snatching the mallet from Eddie’s hand and slams it as hard as possible into the face of the drum, which is also Richie’s face. He mutters an ouch and Stan hits it again but his swing is too wide and he knocks over one of the other frogs on the stage. Its instrument soars into the air and Ben moves almost breaking apart their costume and catches it. A bassoon lands in his hands and Stan hits Richie again mumbles “ouch.”

When none of them play actual music, the frogs watching start to complain.

“Somebody do something,” Bev whispers. “Come on!”

“Ouch!” Richie mutters because Stan pretends he’s playing the drums.

Bev looks back at the rest of the group. Ben is holding onto the bassoon. “Do something!”

“Um. . .” Ben frantically looks around, everybody is staring at him or the frogs are, not his group. They’re all attempting to avoid this moment as long as possible and he inhales deeply thinking of a tune, any tune, he needs a tune and as soon as he finds it, he starts to play the bassoon.

It takes everything for Richie to not shout, “ _Really_?” since he’s a drum and all. 

Eddie shoots Ben a look as he starts to play _Careless Whisper_ by George Michael on the bassoon and as if Ben planned the whole thing ahead of time, the frog starts to sing, still sitting on top of Eddie’s head. Stan stops and Richie looks over at Eddie rather than his frog friend. Eddie almost falls back, he’s teetering off-balance about to throw up because there’s not only a frog on his head but a singing frog. He mouths some nonsense to Richie who can’t make out any of this from behind the drum. Richie is about to move to get a better look at Eddie but Stan hits the drum again with the mallet.

“They love you,” Bev whispers to Ben. 

Ben continues to play and the other frogs join him as they continue their production until the ferry reaches a small dock. It's all muddy there and the other frogs hop off onto the dock leaving them behind. Richie ducks out from behind the drum looking at Eddie again who panics. He sweeps the frog from his head, his fingers catch in his hair as he sticks his tongue out gagging.

“Gross! Gross! Horrible!” Eddie mutters mainly to himself rather than anybody in general.

“Where are they going?” asks Stan.

Even though the other frogs are in clothes, they start to burrow into the ground. Bev lands on Ben’s shoulder watching them. “We should make like them and get some sleep.”

Stan snaps his attention over at her. “I thought we were going to Adelaide’s.”

Richie rubs the side of his head. “I think I need rest,” he mutters. “My head. It hurts.” He squints at Stan.

“You said, hit me.”

“Ok, but I didn’t really mean it.”

Eddie interrupts. “I think you did. You literally said hit me and that you’re a drum.”

“Whatever.” Richie scowls at them and makes his way to the edge of the ferry. All the other frogs are off by now, they’re minding their own business in all the mud. He leans over a bit looking at the mud before looking back at them. “Look to me. . .”

“Richard!” snaps Eddie. “Whatever you’re about to say it's stupid so stop.”

“Wow, somebody’s in a bad mood,” comments Richie.

“We should go to Adelaide’s.” Eddie looks over at Bev. “We’re close, right?”

Again, though Bev tells them, “We should rest here. It’s safer.”

Mike agrees, “We’re safer here away from the trees. It’s afoot out there.”

In a short time, Stan and Mike manage to get a fire going and they’re all sitting around it with some clothing from the closet to keep warm. With what water they could find, Eddie keeps watching his hands muttering about something. Ben looks as if he’s about to fall asleep right away and Bill is asleep. Richie sits off to the side with Bev keeping an eye on Eddie as he continues to wash frog off himself.

“Bet you're glad to get rid of us soon,” Richie says to Bev. The others chuckle except Eddie who stops and sits down with them around the fire. “Adelaide’s first thing in the afternoon?”

“Don’t you mean morning?” asks Ben.

“Oh, no, I’m sleeping in.”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “He’s serious, too.” Eddie curls up in some blankets they found on board telling himself they’re free of salmonella, they’re free of salmonella.

Ben lies down without further comment. Only Stan challenges Richie, he squints at him from across the fire. “I’m waking you up at sunrise.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Richie retorts.

Eddie groans, he rolls his eyes but nobody sees this.

“Watch me.” And Stan lies down, too.

Mike sits there though keeping an eye on the trees, not that any are moving. He just sits and stares. Richie leans back looking at the sky while resting his head on the backs of his hands while Bev waits on a stick in the mud beside him. He smiles at Bev but she looks off at the trees, too, all distracted. Not that Richie notices. He takes his glasses off attempting to find a place to keep them safe. There’s none so he hooks them to his shirt while lying there.

“Hey Bev. . .”

“Yeah. . .” She looks at him.

“I’m gonna miss you when we’re gone.”

Bev says nothing. She just gawks at Richie who’s wide awake as he looks at the sky. If she leaves now, he probably won’t notice. Everybody but Mike is asleep and she’s not worried about him. She glances at him. He’s still watching the trees, he gets it. And Richie’s glasses are off. They’re so giant, she’s sure the world is a blur without them.

Rather than leave, Bev sighs and starts up a conversation, “Are you in a rush to get back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so long! And sorry it's been some time but I hope everybody is staying healthy and busy out there.


	3. III.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bev and Richie have a heart-to-heart by a campfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW
> 
> Bev references a scene from IT that deals with non-con but there's no details and we don't see anything and a song is referenced with some similar themes.

# III.

Bev actually chuckles. “I mean, I haven’t always been a bird.” She’s not sure how long her and Richie have been chatting away. Lots of questions with no real answers at first but then she finds herself about to answer his question, _What’s it like to be a bird?_ To be honest, that’s not really an answer to the question posed but her answer anyway. Bev looks down at Richie who is still lying there with his head resting on the back of his hands. “I was very human, not that anybody ever seemed to notice.”

“What’s that mean?” Richie replies. He ends up sitting up putting his glasses on, they somewhat magnify his eyes. “Nobody realized you were _human_? Like how the fuck's that possible?”

Bev shrugs as much as a bird can. “I don’t know? Like people never treated me right. They’d call me trash and other things and nobody wanted to be my friend.”

For some reason, Richie says nothing and Bev was sure he always had some sort of weird comment.

So Bev goes on. “Then one day, I’m walking home and trying to mind my own business when this group of boys. . .” She pauses almost not able to find the words yet Richie is there silently watching her and waiting for what she says next. “. . .I don’t know what would’ve happened but. . .one of the boys kept trying to kiss me and somehow-somehow it stopped ‘cause my dad ended up being home. He walked out, looked at us, I ran off toward him and those boys scattered.” Another long pause and she realizes Richie is still watching her without making any smart ass comments. “Anyway. . .my dad wasn’t happy, he told me I was growing up too fast and he didn’t want me to fly away so he turned me into a bird, which is weird because. . .”

“Birds can fucking fly.” Richie glances back at the rest of the group for a moment before looking back at Bev. “Well, he should’ve turned you into a penguin or ostrich or something, they don’t fly.”

This gets a laugh from Bev. “I think penguin is my preference.”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure an ostrich could kill a man.”

Bev chokes on her laugh. “Wow, ok then, Richie, whatever you say.”

“No, it’s true. I’m pretty sure it happened like at a zoo once. Some zookeeper came in the next morning to find three ostriches eating a guy.”

If only Richie could see her major eye roll at his bullshit story. “What about you? You never answered my question earlier. About rushing to get home. Where are you even from?”

Richie lies down again, relaxing there. “Derry.” Bev snaps her attention to him, which gets Richie to casually just go, “What?”

“Like Derry? As in Derry, Maine?” Bev blurts.

“Yeah. Shit place, kinda close to Bangor, I guess. You’ve heard of it?”

Bev snaps her attention away from him this time around. Her little heart is beating a whole lot faster, and birds' hearts beat real fast already. “No,” she lies.

“You sure knew what state it's in.”

Bev has no comeback, which is good because Richie ends up running his motor mouth again, killing the potential silence between them. There’s a lot of lies Bev is about to swallow up. One of which being, she too is from Derry and another one though is much worse.

“I don’t know, things were getting pretty weird back home. I think my mom wants to move and I’m some idiot who sort of panicked so I decided I’d like to be stupid and let someone know how I really felt.”

“Oh yeah? What’s her name?” Bev cuts in.

Richie just keeps going on with his whole story. “So I made this mixtape. . .for the person even though I know it’s all wrong and whatnot, but I made sure it was the best of songs on it because I’m amazing at choosing songs and all.”

“Oh yeah?” Again Bev cuts in almost laughing about this whole idea. “Prove it.”

“Um ok. Stuff like The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Passions, Oingo Boingo?” Richie says it like a question even though he knows what was on the mixtape. “Also this song, _Jet Boy Jet Girl_ , you’d have to listen to it to get it because. . .it’s a thing”

“How does it go?”

“No way am I telling you, it’s real inappropriate. Not for lady birds’ ears.”

Bev pretends to nudge him with her wing. “Ok, but now I really need to know.”

Richie dramatically groans and chuckles then somewhat sings for her. “We made it on a ballroom blitz, I took his arm and kissed his lips, He looked at me with such a smile. . .” Except then he trails off because it’s too much and the song gets pretty worse. “Ah fuck, no, Bev. . .we’re not having this conversation.” He bursts out laughing but stops to make sure they didn’t make anybody up. The entire time Bev gawks at him. “Trust me, it gets. . .graphic like _graphic_.”

“Graphic?!” Bev joins him in his laughter. “Wow, wow. Wow! Whatever then.” She pauses. “Did he um at least like it?”

She gets a look from Richie, something silent passes between the two of them. Neither of them need to say what, but Bev can make out Richie’s face turning bright red. He looks a whole lot redder with the flames. He sits up, fixing his glasses, not that they need to be pushed back, but he toys around with them.

“Don’t know, didn’t give it to. . .” There are still way too many people around and particular people, too. “. . .somebody stole the mixtape before I could hand it off and this whole other person I know apparently got it instead like some joke.” Richie nods in the direction of Bill and Bev catches on right away. She gasps and mouths a _nooooooo_. “Yes.” Another gasp from Bev, _noooooooo_. “Yeah, really.”

“Ooooh my god! Richie! No! _Richie_ , you’re such a loser,” Bev teases and looks over at Bill. “Shit! So what does he think? Do you. . .?”

“Shut up! You’re a loser, all over there saying how people didn’t realize you were around.”

“Ouch,” whispers Bev. “That. . .really hurts.”

“I didn’t mean!” Richie sits up real fast. “I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry, but it’s true you know.” Another big eye roll from Bev. “You and me both, losers. Them, too, losers.”

“Are you sure you want to go home so soon?” asks Bev.

This time when Richie lies down, he takes off his glasses ready to sleep. He pulls his sweatshirt up like its some blanket. “Yeah, why not?” He rolls over a bit, away from Bev. “Get some sleep. We gotta be up by noon tomorrow.”

Earlier than that, Richie, Bev imagines saying but of course doesn’t. She can picture Mike saying it, too. She looks over at him, he’s also not asleep like her. Just looking off towards the trees. This leaves her there alone, she glances at Richie a few times waiting for him to fall asleep. As soon as she does, she starts to count in her head like someone taught her once. 

_One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi. Four Mississippi._

And she goes on until she makes it to twenty Mississippis. By then, Richie’s still fast asleep like the others. Mike is there lying and watching the trees. He moves a bit and watches her take flight, but he won’t be doing anything. They all have their secrets. Bev flies off towards the woods. Her heart still beating real fast, too fast, her little fast beating bird heart, feels like it's about to pop. If she’s not too careful then it will, but at least, she doesn’t have far to go because Adelaide’s is close by enough.


	4. IV.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie, Eddie, and Stan learn Bev is a traitor.

# IV.

A feather itches Eddie’s nose waking him up. A little fluffy blue one hits him as he spots Bev flying away. He sits up hitting Stan by accident who grumbles as he sits up. Stan gives Eddie a little shove.

“What’s your problem?” Stan whispers to him.

Eddie hushes him and picks up the feather for him to see. “Bev left.”

“Huh?” Stan stands up looking after her. “But we need her. . .”

“Would you guys shut up!” snaps Richie sitting up, but at least his voice level is at a whisper. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

Eddie holds up Bev’s feather. “She left.”

“She probably just went to the bathroom.” Richie goes to lie on his side looking at the empty spot Bev had been sitting when they were all chatting. He puts his glasses on to be sure and sits up. Without really stating his thoughts, he gets up putting his sweatshirt on already following her. “Bev?”

“Richie!” Eddie hisses and ends up getting up after him, he tucks the feather into his pocket and goes to catch up with Richie. “C’mon, Richie! Stop!”

Stan ends up joining them. Eddie gives him a dirty look prompting Stan to go, “What?”

“What are you doing here?”

But Richie for a change doesn't have time for the bickering to ensue. “Just shut the fuck up. She’ll hear us.” He manages to shoot the two a dirty look, it almost causes Eddie to stop right in his tracks and Richie carries on doing his best to keep an eye on Bev as she’s flying.

Something’s got to be wrong, all wrong. Nobody would lie around sharing stories like that then take off in the night. She kept asking them to stay, too, like she couldn’t bare the thought of them leaving and yet look at her go. Unless it was all lies about her being turned into a bird. The story didn’t even make sense. Turning somebody into a bird so they wouldn’t fly away was just about the stupidest thing Richie could think of. He ends up picking up his pace and yet Eddie stays with him. 

Eddie nods, he smiles or maybe it’s more of a smirk or something. Richie almost trips over some roots. Eddie ends up catching him before he lands face first breaking his glasses. That’d be bad, too, almost up there with whatever the fuck Bev’s up to right now.

###

A lone cottage in the woods waits in between the trees. The windows are all closed but music playing on the inside is loud enough for Bev to hear as she approaches. Candles light up the place, the fire playing with shadows in all the windows. Without an opening, she dives down the chimney coming closer and closer to the musical notes leaving a phonograph behind.

White ash splashes up all over her face, she chokes on some of it not able to see but she can hear some movement. There’s the clicking of knitting needles and her father clearing his throat. She looks at the phonograph on the table. Yarn trails across the ceiling in knitted contraptions. The song they’re listening to almost sounds like a ghost, it’s such a different tune from the ferry when Ben played it on the bassoon.

“Bevvy,” her dad says, and right away her heart rate spikes. Bev looks over at him and Adelaide lying in bed, she coughs a bit. “I saw you with those boys.”

The ghost of Ben’s song keeps on playing: _Should've known better than to cheat a friend and waste the chance that I'd been given._

“They’re for Adelaide,” Bev replies. “She promised.”

Her father looks at the elderly woman lying on the bed. Again she coughs and pauses with her knitting. “That is true, she promised to bring me those two boys for It.”

“But. . .I lost them,” says Bev.

And the phonograph continues to sing to them: _Tonight the music seems so loud, I wish that we could lose this crowd, Maybe it's better this way._

Even though nobody says a word about this, Adelaide lifts a pair of bird-shaped scissors while she hums along to Ben’s old tune. She shakes her head a few times, scissors in one hand and knitting needles in the other, which never looked so dangerous. A single one could easily impale a small blue bird-like Bev.

“Why do you lie?” Adelaide tsks. She looks straight at Bev who can’t even meet her stare. “Don’t you want to be a human girl again? I’m sure your father even wants that.”

Sickness rumbles in Bev’s stomach, she’ll puke everywhere. “Let me find them again.” She does look up and manages to look Adelaide straight in the eye while doing her best to avoid looking at her dad. “There’s other boys, too, you can bring them. . .all. . .to It.” This. This is a lie. Bev knows deep down that this is all a lie. She keeps her eye on those bird-shaped scissors. “Give me one more day.”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” The words slice right through the room with the breeze of cool air it let’s in. Of course, Adelaide starts to scream right away for the door to close. Richie’s standing in the doorway. He steps inside with Eddie right beside him and Stan following. Bev gazes at them not sure what to do. Her dad snaps the door shut behind them. Only Stan and Eddie seem to notice this. “THIS IS ADELAIDE? SOME FUCKING TRAP?”

“Richie. . .” Eddie whispers, tugging on Richie’s sleeve. “Run.”

Stan reaches for the door but Bev’s dad swats his hand away and shoves Stan away from the door. He blocks the exit leaving only windows and the chimney for escape and really only a bird can flee up the chimney. So Stan adds to Eddie’s weird whisper warning, “. . .Richie. . .” The scissors Adelaide holds catches his attention because he’s not sure why they’re in the shape of a chickadee. If it were any other moment, he probably would’ve started to ask a lot of questions.

“Oh how lovely of you to join us,” Adelaide chimes in. She pulls down on some of the yarn whipping the boys off the floor. They’re hanging in her string as if they’re stuck in a spider web.

“NO WAIT!” protests Bev. “I didn’t mean! I didn’t mean to!” She flies up in the air but her dad plucks her right from the sky and she tries to squirm free. “Please! I didn’t. . .! I didn’t mean. . .! Rich!”

Richie tries to squirm free from the yarn, it only pulls tighter and tighter. Stan eyes it in an attempt to figure out his next best move and Eddie sort of just hangs there unsure what he’s most afraid of because there’s a lot to be afraid of.

“Alvin, bring them here,” insists Adelaide.

Bev’s father puts her down by the phonograph. “Behave,” he orders her. He moves closer to them and tugs at Eddie about to tear him down from the contraption.

“Don’t you! Don’t you fucking touch me!” Eddie screams at the same time that Richie yells at him “Don’t you fucking touch him! I’ll rip your dick off myself!”

Bev’s father stops and Adelaide gasps. “Such awful boys, good. They won’t be missed.”

Rather than behave, Bev flies up, knocking over what candles she can before she crashes into one of the windows. Flames light the place up so much faster than she thought. Smoke billows everywhere with a lot of shouting. Yarn plummets from the ceiling as it burns up. Richie, Eddie, and Stan all fall to the ground. Richie gets up first and grabs the phonograph off the table into Bev’s dad while Stan and Eddie stay on the ground to crawl away only Stan makes his way a little closer to Adelaide and her scissors feeling the chickadee shape of them means something or it does to him. Bev opens up a window letting the cold air in, which results in Adelaide screeching so loud.

Richie covers his ears while he stands there and Eddie is still on the ground. He has to squint through tears and smoke, not able to make out what’s happening other than somebody is probably dying and it’s Adelaide.

“CHILD! HOW DAAAARE! CHILD!”

Stan snatches the scissors when they hit the ground but he backs up as fast as he can because Adelaide’s fingertips drip as if she’s made of wax and melting into her bed then into the floor. Somebody tugs on the back of his shirt. It’s Bev’s dad trying to tear him away from Adelaide and reaching out for the bird-shaped scissors. Stan rolls away from him as best he can, attempting to kick his groin. It’s Bev who starts to fly around, she pecks at her dad’s face going for his eyes. Stan climbs to his feet coughing up smoke. Eddie crashes into him, he no longer crawls across the floor and he starts to push Stan along. The two make it to the open window and climb out. 

They hit the ground on the outside and take off running a bit as the fire continues to eat at the cottage. Some of the flames spike up catching tree branches. Eddie looks around realizing they're alone, which is great and terrible all at the same time.

“Richie. RICHIE!” Eddie is about to run toward the building but Stan catches him and points at a shadow moving towards them. Eddie sighs. “Richie!”

Richie pushes his glasses up a bit, wiping some tears away. He just says, “Smoke.” He looks at the cottage with them. Doesn’t look like anybody else made it out but hopefully, Bev did even though she’s a liar. Again, Richie wipes a few tears away from his face.

“Are you crying?” Eddie blurts.

Richie looks back at him pretending he’s not, there’s enough soot across his face for him to pretend it's that he’s wiping away. “Well. . .yeah!” he ends up saying and looks at the cottage. “I lost my sweatshirt. I really liked that sweatshirt.”

It’s almost like _I lost my sweatshirt_ is a better way to state they all lost a friend. Richie, Eddie, and Stan all watch as the cottage falls straight into the ground, bringing some of the trees with it. Those branches wail, in as much pain as Adelaide while she melted there in her bed. 

“Sounds like your mom, Eds.” And Richie actually laughs at his joke, not that anybody else does. “What? Give me a break? I lost my sweatshirt, this is a hard time for me.”

“What do we do now?” Stan interrupts.

“Go back,” Eddie suggests.

Richie ends up saying nothing.

Eddie looks back and around. “Um, how do we. . .go back?”

“We don’t,” mutters Richie. “We go home. Come on.” As if he knows the way, Richie starts walking, forcing Eddie to follow and Stan at some odds because he’s not sure where home even is, but for the sake of company, he follows them.

When they get a little closer to the cottage, Stan asks, “Should we look for. . .Bev?”

“No,” snaps Richie.

And so the move on, two of them are heading home and one of them is about as lost as possible. The rest are left behind and Bev, too, but none of them know where she is anyway. Eddie does his best to stay in step with Richie as they make their way past the trees. At least, they’re not wailing anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying this please like this or drop a comment, it'll brighten my day.
> 
> Stay healthy out there!
> 
> Up next is The Ringing of the Bell AND Babes in the Wood, I might combine the two since the Losers are split up.


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